                Laminoplasty is a surgical procedure for treating spinal stenosis by relieving pressure on the spinal cord. The procedure involves the cutting        (cutting through on one side and merely cutting a groove on the other) the lamina on both sides of the affected vertebrae and then “swinging” the freed flap of bone open thus relieving the pressure on the spinal cord. The spinous process may be removed to allow the lamina bone flap to be swung open. The bone flap is then propped open using small wedges or pieces of bone such that the enlarged spinal canal will remain in place.        
Often a small metal plate is used to bridge the open gap and help the bone graft remain in place. Laminoplasty systems on the market today use simple bone plates for fixation and, due to the small area being plated, require extremely small plates. These are often difficult to place and use very small screws that can be lost of difficult to manipulate.